House votes to kill Democrat's resolution to impeach Trump

In this photo from Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2017, Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, arrives for a Democratic Caucus meeting on Capitol Hill in Washington. The House has overwhelmingly voted to kill a resolution from Green to impeach President Donald Trump. The vote Wednesday was 364-58.J. Scott Applewhite / AP

WASHINGTON — The House overwhelmingly voted Wednesday to kill a resolution from a liberal Democratic lawmaker to impeach President Donald Trump as most Democrats joined Republicans in opposing the move.

Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, said Trump had associated his presidency with causes rooted in bigotry and racism. To back his claim accusing Trump of high misdemeanours, Green cited incidents such as Trump’s blaming both sides for violence at a deadly white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, and his recent sharing of hateful, anti-Muslim videos posted online by a fringe British extremist group.

After his resolution was read aloud, the House voted 364-58 to table the resolution.

All the no votes came from Democrats, and four Democratic lawmakers voted present. In all, 126 Democrats joined Republicans in voting to table Green’s effort in the GOP-led House.

Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said in a statement shortly before the vote that while “legitimate questions have been raised about his fitness to lead this nation,” they argued “now is not the time to consider articles of impeachment.”

Several Democratic lawmakers said they agreed that it’s premature to act before special counsel Robert Mueller’s team completes its investigation into Russian election meddling.

Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Mich., said Democratic lawmakers cannot allow themselves to be drawn into a process “that’s not thoughtful or complete or might not even be the conclusion we ought to draw.”

“We ought to let Mr. Mueller complete his full investigation rather than engage in what would essentially be a public relations stunt,” Kildee said. “This is a serious thing. It ought not to be done on a whim.”

Green said on the House floor that he planned to take the road less travelled in seeking Trump’s impeachment. He’s convinced it’s a road worth travelling, but he said, “I ask that no one take this journey with me.”

Afterward, Green said the vote would not deter him from trying again. He said he was already working on additional articles of impeachment.

“I didn’t lobby anybody. I didn’t ask anybody, but I’m grateful for those who did vote with the Constitution. I assure you, it’s a process and this was a step in the process,” Green said.

Pelosi has said any impeachment drive should wait until there’s evidence of an impeachable offence. Another problem for Democrats is that opposing Green’s resolution puts them at risk of angering the party’s rabidly anti-Trump voters. Some Democrats tried talking Green out of his plan. They did the same in October, when he proposed a similar resolution but never demanded a vote on it.